Rail joint



H. L LYLE.

RAIL JOINT.

10N FILED Nov 17 9 1,4@Q8,1 u Patented'Sept. 5,1922.

part of' the'web llcut away, as. best', seen Patented Sept 5, l922 i er fr @n a at* en a in is f intatti aan maarja l orifice,

nain roinrl Application yfiled November 17, 1921.k Serial No. 515,828.L

T 0 all whom t may concern Be itk known that I, ylinnianirr L. Lynn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brookville, in the county of Jefferson and State of Pennsylvania', have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rail Joints, of which the following is a specihication.`

My invention relates to rail joints adapted to take care of expansion caused by changes in temperature, as well as of contraction of the rails,- after. they have been laid.

j One object of the invention 'is now to furnish lish plates integral with the rail ends instead of detachable therefrom. As these solid fish plates extend all the way from the foot `up to the head of therail, the head is well supported and no sagging of the abutting rail ends will occur, when a train is passing along the track, so that all hammering or clicking against the wheels at the joints, will be obviated. Un this account, there will be no undue wear at these places, nor will the corners of the rails break olf.

Another advantage is to be found in the fact that the extending fish platcs'on one rail embrace and tightly grip the web of the adjoining rail, so that no side movement between them is possible. n i s Still another advantage isl gained by this construction7 namely that .the joint, which generally is the weakest part ofthe track and for that reason experiences the greatest amount of wear, is here the strongestpart of the track.

y in the accompanying drawing one embodiment of the invention is illustrated.

Figure l shows a side elevation of the joint assembled;

Figure 2 is a similar view, tion; n

Figure 3 is also a side elevation with the railk ends separated, and partly iniseetion, and

Figure lis transverse section along' the line 4-4 of Figure 2. s l

In the drawing, the most. common rail section has been illustrated, that is` a ,"section consisting of the head l0, web ll and flange or foot l2'. The left rail end, asseen in Figures l, 2 and 3, has the head l0 and partly in secj plates i7 extend with half the length from a medial line 13l down to andfincluding the yfoot"projects a considerable distance to-l and part of theweb have been cut away, In

this manner, a lower extension- 15 is formed which7 to about midway of its length, is provided with a recess i6. Y. s i

A pair of reinforcing wings i7' having approximately. the shape'of ordinary lish plates, are welded tothe rail l'end and entend in a perpendicular direction the full distance between the head l0 and the foot l2. in this inannenithe reinforcing plates are able to give Yfirm support' t Ythe head' of the rail end. Lengthways the reinforcing to the left ofithe abutment 'surface le andy with the other half to the right of said surface. ln this manner, a solid body is formed to the left of the surface li-and a channel 19 ,is formed between the free' ends of thev right hand ends by these reinforcing` plates; rllhis channel 19 is of the same width as the web ll.

The right hand end of therail joint, as seen in the drawing, is shaped in the opposite way to the" left rail end, that is to say, the head portion 10 in this case extends beyond the foot portion l2 a corresponding amount to the cut-away portions in the left rail end. rihe web is, therefore, cut along the longitudinal medial line 2O and formed with a lug 2l, which is slightly shorter in length than` the corresponding recess 16 in the left hand rail end, but the overhanging portion of the right hand rail end up to the abutment surface 22' is of the same length as the extending end. j

The right hand rail end is also provided with a pair of reinforcing plates 23 constructed in the same manner as the reinforcing platesv 17 and these plates 23 are welded to the right hand rail end, so thatabout 'half of the length of the plates form a solid body with' the head, web and foot of the rightl rail end, while theleft ends of the plates form, an inverted channel between i, them adapted to engage the web of the left rail'end when they parts are assembled.

portion l5 of the left rail*r l in Figure 3",l but, the lower` half of the webk l As best seen in Figure 2, the rail ends are assembled, so that the Webs of the tivo extending ends engage along the medial lines 13 and 2O and the projection 21 engages in the recess 1G, so that the perpendicular surfaces 14 and 25 abut against each other leaving a small play to the rear, as at Q6, in the longitudinal direction in order to permit contraction of the rails When in position. As

best seen in Figure 4, the Web 11 then fits tightly in the channel 19 formed between the reinforcing plates 1 7 and similarly the web on the lower extension fits tightly between the Walls of the inverted channel formed by the reinforcing plates 23. This causes a firm support in lateral direction of the rail, so that no slippingat the joint is possible in that direction. As the top faces 27 of the reinforcing plates 17 engage snugly under the head 10, on the one hand, and the bottom faces 28 of the reinforcing plates 2.3 also fit tightly over the foot 12 on the other hand, a firm support is provided between the head and foot of the rails at the joint. It Will, therefore, be seen that no displacement in perpendicular direction of the top surfaces of the rail ends is likely to occur and that, consequently, all hammering at the joint in this manner has been obviated.

Should the rails expand during hot Weather, so that they Would bulge, the length of the rails can easily be adjusted by cutting off the end of the right hand rail sufficiently, as indicated by line 29. A similar shortening of the left hand rail end is indicated in Figure 3, Where the extending part of the rail end should Abe cut along line 31 and the same length added in the recess 16, as indicated at 32. When this operationhas been performed, the joint is again assembled, and the parts will fit together as before, permitting the same amount of play 26 as before in the longitudinal direction in case of subsequent contraction of the rails.

It will be evident, that the invention is equally applicable to different sections of rails and that the claims are intended to cover modifications necessary in that respect.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. In a rail joint, a rail end having an overlapping top portion and another rail end having a corresponding overlapping bot- `tom portion, a pair of fish plates integral With each of said rail ends and extending part Way along said overlapping portions and adapted to embrace the corresponding web of the opposing overlapping portion.

2. In a rail joint, a rail end having an overlapping top portion and another lrail end having a corresponding overlapping bottom portion, said overlapping portions meeting along a medial longitudinal plane of the rail webs, and a pair of sh plates integral with each of said rail ends and extending part Way along said overlapping portions and adapted to embrace the corresponding web of the opposing overlapping portion.

23. In a rail joint, a rail end having an overlapping top portion and another rail end having a corresponding overlapping bottom portion, said overlapping portions meeting along a medial longitudinal plane of the rail Webs, one of said portions having a recess and the other portion a corresponding projection, and a pair of' fish plates integral With each of said rail ends and extending part Way along said overlapping portions and adapted to embrace the corresponding web of the opposing overlapping portion.

4f. In a rail joint, a rail end having an overlapping top portion and another rail end having a corresponding overlapping bottom portion, said overlapping portions meeting along a medial longitudinal plane of the rail Webs, one of said portions having a recess and the other portion a corresponding projection permitting a slight longitudinal play, and a pair of fish plates in-` tegral with each of said rail ends and extending part Way along said overlapping portions and adapted to embrace the corresponding Web ofthe opposing overlapping portion.

5. In a rail joint, a rail end having an overlapping top portion and another rail end having a corresponding overlapping bottom portion, said overlapping portions meeting along a medial longitudinal plane of the rail Webs, and a pair of fish plates integral with each of said rail ends and extending part way along said overlapping portions and adapted to embrace the corresponding Web of the opposing overlapping portion, said fish plates filling the space between the foot and the head of the rail` thereby providing a firm support for the head and preventing sagging at the joint.

6. In a rail joint, a rail end having an overlapping top portion and another rail end having a corresponding overlapping bottom portion, said overlapping portions meeting along a medial longitudinal plane of the rail Webs, one of said portions having a recess and the other portion a corresponding projection, and a pair of fish plates integral with each of said rail ends and extending part Way along said overlapping portions and adapted to embrace the corresponding Web of the opposing overlapping portion, said fish plates filling the space between the foot and the head of the rail, thereby providing a firm support for the head and preventing sagging at the joint.

7. In a rail joint, a rail end having an overlapping top portion and another rail end having a corresponding overlapping bottom portion, said overlapping portions meeting along av medial longitudinal plane of the rail Webs, one of said portions having and adapted to embrace the Lcorresponding web of the opposing overlapping portion,

said fish plates filling the space between the foot and the head of the rail, thereby pro,- viding a firm support for the head and prel0 Venting sagging at the joint.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature.

HERBERT L. LYLE. [L s] 

